How to Customize your Main Menu in The Sims 4
...Like this!
Special thanks to @sdmsims for pointing us in the right direction for figuring this out.
This tutorial will (hopefully) teach you how to make your own menu screen for TS4 using SimMattically's Refreshed Main Menu mod. If you've ever made a loading screen before, the process is very similar to that.
This is a 10 step process, and it's a bit lengthy. So make sure you have the time to kill before beginning.
Read on for the tutorial.
YOU WILL NEED:
SimMattically's Refreshed Main Menu mod
S4PE
JPEXS Free Flash Decompiler
Your choice in image editor
STEP 1: ACQUIRE MOD
This tutorial assumes you already know how to download, save, and load a mod into your TS4 game.
The mod will be downloaded to your computer as a .zip file. Extract the archive to somewhere you will find it.
Here is what is inside:
The base mod (SimMattically_RefreshedMainMenu_BASE.package)
The background files (They each begin with SimMattically_RefreshedMainMenu_BG_[...])
Optional files (One for an animated logo, one for the scenarios button. SimMattically_RefreshedMainMenu_AnimatedLogo.package and SimMattically_RefreshedMainMenu_ScenarioButton.package respectfully)
You will want the BASE, any optional file you'd like out of the two above, and a BG. For simplicity's sake, we will use BG_Arbour.
So, in your mods folder, you should at least have the BASE file and BG_Arbour.
STEP 2: BOOT GAME
This is to check and see if you've installed the mod correctly. If you have, you should see something like so;
If you see something like this, congrats! Now close the game.
STEP 3: OPEN BASE FILE IN S4PE
Open up S4PE. It will look something like this;
Navigate to File > Open...
Navigate to your BASE file in your file explorer and open it. It should now look like this;
This looks like a lot here. However, we are in need of only one thing from this list.
STEP 4: EXTRACT .GFX
We want the thing at the very top of the list -- the _GFX.
Right click that line. Go to Export > To file...
Export this file to somewhere you will find easily on your computer.
STEP 5: EXPORT IMAGES FROM .GFX IN JPEXS
Open your .GFX file in JPEXS, and navigate to the panel on your left. Click images. It should look something like this;
Scroll until you find the first box with an actual image in it. In this case, it's Arbour. It should be the first one to appear.
Right click it. Export selection > OK. Save it somewhere you will find it.
Now, scroll down some more, until you reach the first sidebar image.
Again, this should correlate to the Arbour background. Repeat the same process as above for exporting.
Your images will save in a folder called images. Like so;
STEP 5: MODIFY IMAGES
NOW HERE IS THE FUN PART BABEY. This is where you let your imagination run wild! Open your images up in your favorite image editor and go nuts.
For the sake of this tutorial, I will be using a random image from my SSD.
And a gradient created by color picking this image.
Once you're satisfied with your work, go ahead and save these. I would just save them in that same images folder to save time.
STEP 6: REPLACE IMAGES IN .GFX IN JPEXS
Go back to JPEXS. Go back to the first background image in the list.
Right click it. Hit Replace...
Navigate to that images folder.
And hit open! Congrats, you replaced your first image.
Scroll down to the first sidebar image. Rinse and repeat the steps above, but with your sidebar image (my gradient, for example).
And now you have your imported images! Save the .GFX file, and go back to S4PE.
STEP 7: LOAD NEW .GFX INTO PACKAGE FILE USING S4PE
Right click the _GFX line again. Then go to Import > From file...
Navigate to wherever you saved your GFX. Open it. You will be greeted by this window.
DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just hit OK.
Once it's in, your list should look like this;
The old _GFX will be crossed out. This is good!
STEP 8: SAVE PACKAGE FILE
Navigate to File > Save. It may take a moment to save, be patient. Close S4PE, load the BASE mod into your mods folder, boot game.
STEP 9: THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
If you did everything correctly, you should be greeted by your new Main Menu.
STEP 10: RELISH IN YOUR SUCCESS
YOU DID IT!!! You might find yourself wanting to forever stare at your new menu screen. This is normal and good. Congrats!!
SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER:
I couldn't find a TOS for SimMattically's mods, so I would recommend you use your new menu screen for personal use only.
I am thinking that similar steps are taken with different modded menu screens, so if you're a tinkerer type. Food for thought.
In the original images for the mod, the sidebar is a piece of the BG with some blur to give the sidebar a frosted glass look. We personally went with a gradient because it's easier, but really, you can do whatever you want.
If anyone has questions, feel free to send them our way! Thank you for reading.
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AO3 now has a tag for AI works!!!
That means you can filter it out!*
To filter it from your account, and never see any of it again, follow these steps.
- First, log in to your AO3 account
- Click on this link or paste this in your browser bar
https://archiveofourown.org/skins/new?skin_type=Skin
- Set "Type" to "Site Skin"
- Set "Title" to whatever you want (Something like “No AI” so you'll know what Skin you just made)
- Then click into the large "CSS" box and paste all of the bolded text below
- hit the "Submit" button
.blurb:has(a[href*="/tags/Created%20Using%20Generative%20AI/works" i]),
.blurb:has(a[href*="/tags/AI-Generated%20Text/works" i]),
.blurb:has(a[href*="/tags/AI%20Generated%20Text/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="/tags/AI%20Generated%20Fic/works" i]),
.blurb:has(a[href*="/tags/AI-Generated%20Images/works" i])
{ display: none !important; }
- Hit "Use"
Presto!
No more AI fics or art in your results!
(assuming everyone tagged properly and your browser has the flags enabled)
A blocklist to be used with the Permablocking Specific Tags - Site Skin tutorial by Eli0t
*browser dependent
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i recently found your art via pinterest and just found your tumble through it and i just wanted to say how blown away by how amazing your compositions are, they’re so complex and detailed at the same time!! I truly aspire to have the same level of greatness in my own art.
if you don’t mind me asking are there any specific techniques you use to create your compositions?
Hi!! Thank you!!!!
So, composition...
I don't have a specific technique, as a self taught artist I usually make lots of experiments to see which shape I like better.
(It's a true pain when it comes to anatomy, (i did follow an anatomy class but I keep forgetting the basics) and I'm quite sure I'm still making mistakes,,,,)
I cannot do a proper tutorial on how I think my composition, but I can show you some examples, hoping they can help a little:
Lately I'm experimenting composition through color contrast!! Cold vs Warm, for example. (And to think I used to say I'd be stuck with gold forever,,,)
So..........hope I didn't bring you more questions than answers! Maybe one day I'll make a better teacher than 'look at these shapes...they're...shapes.'
But yes this is how I think things usually -- doesn't mean I'm 100% right (o´▽`o)
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So how did you get the character files of the ol2 characters? I'm really bad with computer stuff and have no idea how to get them, lol. If you don't want to explain it that's ok, I just thought I'd ask!
You know what, sure. I can give a tutorial on that.
For those reading without context, anon here is asking where I got the sprite files needed for this tutorial. This is also essentially just a basic "how to decompile most Ren'py games" tutorial, just swap out all mentions of OL2 with any ren'py game of choice and it should work (within limits, there are some games where this won't work. But it works for both Our Life games)
This tutorial also requires a computer or laptop running Windows. There might be ways to decompile ren'py games from Mac but I'm not certain and that's not what this tutorial is going to focus on. Android users are just shit out of luck though, sorry.
Step 1: Open the folder containing the game's .exe file
This part differs depending on where you downloaded OL2 from.
If you downloaded OL2 from Steam:
Right-click on OL2 in your Steam library, hover your mouse over the manage submenu and then clock "Browse Local Files"
If you downloaded OL2 from Itch.io:
Find where you extracted the game to. If you're unsure, the folder name should look something like "OurLifeNF-[X.X.X]-pc" but with '[X.X.X]' substituted with the version number of your game (for example "OurLifeNF-1.3.5-pc"). Once you find it, double click on the folder to open it
Once you've done either of those things, you should have a window explorer window up that looks something like this
(If you have files that aren't in this screenshot, that's normal, this is just what the folder looks like when you haven't opened the game)
Step 2: Grabbing the archive.rpa file
This is the file that contains all the game's data
From the window you opened up from the last step, double click on the folder labelled 'game'. In that folder, there will be a file titled archive.rpa. Copy that file (don't cut it or drag it out of the game folder, the original file needs to stay in there or your game won't run)
(You can also use the shortcut ctrl + c to copy)
Create a folder somewhere else on your computer, preferably somewhere like Documents, Downloads or Desktop where you can easily access it (to create a folder, right click inside whichever place on your computer you want to create a folder, then hover over the "new" submenu and then click folder). Then paste the archive.rpa file into that folder
Step 3: Download RPA Extract
RPA Extract by iwanPlays is the software we're using to decompile the files. Click the link above, click 'No thanks, just take me to the downloads' (or you can give the developer money if you have the means to and want to show them support) and then click 'Dowload' on the first option in the list and download it to the same folder you copied the archive.rpa file to
Step 4: Decompiling the game
Next, drag the archive.rpa file to rpaExtract.exe. You'll probably get this window that pops up.
Click "More Info" and then, at the bottom, click on the "Run Anyway" button that shows up
After that, a command window will show up with all the files being decompiled. Just wait until its down and then exit out of it.
Ta-da, you've got the decompiled files! The sprite files are in the Characters folder which is in the images folder. Have fun!
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